The Natural History of Wiltshire eBook

The hospitality here was very great. I shall
wave the grandeur of William the first Earle, who
married [Anne] sister to Queen Katharine Parre, and
was the great favourite of King Henry 8th, and conservator
of his will, and come to our grandfather’s memorie,
in the times of his sonne Henry Earle of Pembroke,
and his Countess Mary, daughter of Sir Henry Sydney,
and sister to that renowned knight Sir Philip Sydney,
whose fame will never die whilest poetrie lives.
His Lordship was the patron to the men of armes, and
to the antiquaries and heralds; he took a great delight
in the study of herauldry, as appeares by that curious
collection of heraldique manuscripts in the library
here. It was this earle that did set up all the
painted glasse scutchions about the house. Many
a brave souldier, no doubt, was here obliged by his
Lordship; but time has obliterated their names.

Mr. Robert Barret dedicated the “Theorick and
Practick of Moderne Warres”, in folio, London,
1598, to this noble Earle, and William Lord Herbert
of Cardiff, his son, then a youth. It seemes to
have been a very good discourse as any writt in that
time, wherein he shews much learning, besides experience.
He had spent most of his time in foreigne warres,
as the French, Dutch, Italian, and Spanish; and here
delivers his military observations.

John Jones, an eminent physician in his tyme, wrote
a treatise of the bathes at Bath, printed in a black
letter, Anno Domini 1572, which he dedicated to Henry,
Earle of Pembroke. [These dedications were doubtless
acknowledged by pecuniary gifts from the patron to
the authors. — J. B.]
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I shall now passe to the illustrious Lady Mary, Countesse
of Pembroke, whom her brother hath eternized by his
Arcadia; but many or most of the verses in the Arcadia
were made by her Honour, and they seem to have been
writt by a woman. ’Twas a great pity that
Sir Philip had not lived to have put his last hand
to it. He spent much, if not most part of his
time here, and at Ivychurch, near Salisbury, which
did then belong to this family, when he was in England;
and I cannot imagine that Mr. Edmund Spenser could
be a stranger here. [See, in a subsequent page, Chap.
VIII. “The Downes”. — J. B.]

Her Honour’s genius lay as much towards chymistrie
as poetrie. The learned Dr. Mouffet, that wrote
of Insects and of Meates, had a pension hence.
In a catalogue of English playes set forth by Gerard
Langbain, is thus, viz.: “Lady Pembrock,
Antonius, 4to.” [This was an English translation
of “The Tragedie of Antonie. Doone into
English by the Countesse of Pembroke. Imprinted
at London, for William Ponsonby, 1595.” 12mo.
The Countess of Pembroke also translated “A
Discourse of Life and Death, written in French, by
Phil. Mornay”, 1600, 12mo.- J. B.]

“Underneath
this sable herse
Lies
the subject of all verse,
Sydney’s
sister, Pembroke’s mother,
Death!
ere thou kill’st such another,
Fair,
and wise, and learned as she,
Time
will throw a dart at thee.”